Kalia-dewdrop: Kalia is Hawaiian for "Beauty" and Dewdrop represents how the ends of my coils look when kissed with water and together it reads "Beautiful-Dewdrop". This is my natural hair journey: a time of change, growth, womanhood, love, and embracing what God has blessed me with. Welcome! A woman's hair is her crown & glory for it has been given to her as a covering. {1 Cor. 11:15}

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August 24, 2013

New Braidlock Journey!

The time has arrived for me to start my new set of locks! After wearing my hair freely in puffs and twists for 6 months, in June I made the decision to start my braidlock journey as a birthday present to myself. What an awesome present!

This is how I started the process:
1. Sectioned off my hair using the grid pattern
2. Two-strand twisted my hair all over
3. Unraveled one twist at a time and braided it all the way to the ends
4. Drenched my hair in water to fluff up my braids
5. Let them air dry, rolled them with my loc loops, and wore a curly puff

The braiding process took me an entire week to complete, only because I took my time and worked on a section for a few hours each day. I made sure to take brakes and pace myself since I was not in a rush to finish the process.

I keep my hair in a curly puff most of the time, because my braids kind of stick out everywhere and I wanted them to appear more styled. I've been wearing my hair ties for this reason and they give my locks more personality. I've received so many compliments so far, and so I can't wait for them to mature. What I'm most proud of is that I started them myself. :-D

The Process:

I started braiding the front of my hair and worked my way to the back. I wore a bun or updo to disguise the process.
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My grid pattern looks good! I used a 2-way mirror to work on the back.
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I am finally done!!
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These are my locs after I drenched them in water and let them air dry.
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Time to style them into a curly loc puff!
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This is my birthday hairstyle, which is pretty much the same as the pics above, lol!
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This was my first re-tightening session and it took me 4 hours.
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Hi, I log your log...so detailed description of your journeys. I plan on starting my dreadlocks journey next week but i'm contemplating if to have braidlocks or just go straight dreads...financial consideration is also a factor. Please advice. Amaka-Nigeria

WOW!!! ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL!!! I am so happy Dewdrop that you decided to lock your hair again. On top of that, you did an excellent job yourself. I know they say that it's difficult to lock your own hair let alone retighten it. Again you did an excellent job. Thank you for always keeping us informed with such helpful and encouraging information.Stay Blessed. Lock On!!!

I was anticipating your braidlocks vid because I plan to start my own braidlocks. But I wanted to first see if you could explain how to do the grid pattern and how you measured the size if your bases evenly. I want to have at least 400 or more braidlocks, but want to be sure my grid and sizes are right.

@Amaka: Congrats on deciding to start your lock journey. You can use any method you would like, but the question is how would you like to maintain them? Whether you start with braids or "just go straight dreads", keep in mind what would work best for you and your lifestyle in terms of maintenance.

@Neecy: Thanks! I did the math and just imagined how many rows I would need in the front and back, then determined how many spaces I would need in each row. If you can divide your hair into small sections and then determine how many squares/rows you would need in each section to reach a sum of 400 (i.e. +/-200 in the front and +/-200 in the back), then you should be fine. I believe I counted 10-12 rows on each side in the front and from there I determined how many squares I needed in each row to have close to 200. That would make it easier to section off the back with a similar number. I hope that helps, but let me know if you have more questions. :-)

Hi, I love your braidlocks and have been inspired to let my daughter start the process for me. I lok forward to future updates from you, as I will be learning as I go. Hopefully, my daughter will fininsh mine by this weekend.

I have read somewhere that when it comes to microlocks, the locks on the front and the size should be smaller - about 1/8 inches squares - while bigger in the back - about 1/4 inches - since bigger locks in the back will give an illusion of fullness(it was about sisterlocks but I don't think it makes a difference... does it?).

My question is: does it really matter on the long term? I want to do microlocks in order to add fullness (my hair is thin and scarce) but since I am also a DIYer, I still think about the time for maintenance. If the hair will swell, is it worth it to have it equally small all the way or will it make no difference in the back sections?

Hi Mouli, I have read the same thing as well, and some people suggest these parting sizes for different reasons. One explanation is the front of your head is the most visible part compared to the back or nape. I don't really think it makes a difference as long as your are comfortable and happy with your decision and the size.

In the past I have had locs the same size all over and my density in some areas added fullness unlike other areas. My question for you is would you prefer to have the same size locs all over, or have split the sizes? I really believe that it's a personal preference. I've tried all three ways:1) small front & medium back2) medium front & smaller back3) small all over or medium all over

In the end, my hair ended up the same regardless of any of the three methods, because my natural thickness and density determined the size of each each loc as they matured, not the parting size.

Everyone's hair is different, so the end result will be different. Choose what you think would work best for you based on your hair's texture and thinness. I hope that helps.

Nappy Affirmations

What I love most about you and your blog is your courage to "do YOU". Whatever is best for YOUR locks. You pave your own path and make your way to do what works for you. That encourages me!! ~Felicia

A woman's hair is her crown & glory for it has been given to her as a covering. ~1 Cor. 11:15

Thank you so much! God bless you for what you are doing. It may not seem big, but being able to provide information as well as you do is truly a blessing to us all! ~Teachus1No matter how you choose to wear your hair, you wear it with﻿ elegance, style and grace. You're such an inspiration, not only for your beautiful hair but also for your helpful tips and graceful, enthusiastic and caring demeanor. ~EmpressNatiLocs